Maren Leed is a senior adviser with the Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies and the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She is a frequent writer and lecturer on a range of defense topics. Her interests include defense innovation, amphibious capabilities, rapid acquisition, ground force issues, offensive cyber and electro-magnetic spectrum issues, and military personnel management and compensation. She previously spent four years serving as senior adviser to the chief of staff of the U.S. Army and as special assistant to two vice chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dr. Leed was a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where she handled the operation and maintenance accounts and conducted oversight of military readiness, training, and logistics and maintenance budgets. She previously served as an analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation and as an analyst and doctoral fellow at RAND. She received her A.B. in political science from Occidental College and her Ph.D. in quantitative policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School.